Along with the setting, they would like customers to bring in their own favorite bottle of wine to enjoy with appetizers provided by the coffee shop.

With the OK given by the Winsted City Council at its Tuesday meeting, Olson and Bayerl will now apply for a “consumption and display” permit.

No alcoholic beverages will be sold on site.

Council Member Tom Ollig asked if beer or alcohol would be allowed.

“I prefer that it just be wine. Something to drink in one sitting,” Olson said. “That way, no one will leave with an open bottle. Anything that is not finished in the shop will be emptied.”

Patrons will be carded to ensure that they are of age.

Police Chief Mike Henrich reviewed the application and had no objections.

Council approves Winsted Airport’s capital improvement plan

It wasn’t unanimous, but the council did approve the Winsted Airport capital improvement plan for 2010.

Each year, the city must submit a plan to MnDOT and the FAA to be eligible for federal and state funding.

In 2009, the capital improvement plan included improvements to the taxi-way system, which had been 30 years old. The construction began in the spring of 2009, and will be completed this month.

The 2010 plan is different in that it will begin next year with an “environment assessment”  just the first step in the city’s future airport capital improvement plan, to eventually pave the existing grass runway, scheduled for 2013.

By approving the 2010 plan, the city will also be reimbursed $27,800 for engineering services that were provided for a runway project that was not completed in 2007.

Scheduled as part of the future airport capital improvement plan is:

• an airport environmental assessment to be completed by 2011.• an update of the airport zoning ordinance to be completed by 2012.• land acquisition and a business relocation to be completed by 2013.• engineering designs to be completed by 2013.

Marcus Watson of Bolton & Menk told the council that the capital improvement plan is a living document and it can be changed.

“Starting an environmental assessment review is not a definite funding commitment to the overall airport project, but FAA sees this as a first step to completing the project in the near future,” Watson said in a memorandum to Winsted City Administrator Brent Mareck.

The primary issues to be addressed in the environmental assessment will be the acquisition and relocation of the a business, and the Luce Line Trail will need to be made compatible with the airport.

Council Member Dave Mochinski told the council it was important for this project to continue. “It keeps our funding alive,” Mochinski said.

Council Member Tom Wiemiller said, “I would agree with going through with the whole thing and try to make it work for us.”

Ollig said the project has been sliding along and “I don’t see it happening. Parallel runways, larger planes, buying property, homes. I just don’t see it happening,” Ollig said.

The vote was 3-2 with Mayor Steve Stotko and Ollig voting against the 2010 Airport capital improvement plan; and Council Member Bonnie Quast, Mochinski, and Wiemiller voting for it.

Odds and ends

In other business, the council:

• scheduled a truth-in-taxation public hearing for Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. in the city hall council chambers.

• adopted an ordinance requiring an escrow payment for landscaping for new construction. New residential construction building permit applicants will have a landscape escrow payment of $1,500, and commercial and industrial zones will make an escrow payment of 125 percent of the estimated landscaping cost as determined by the city.

• certified blighting conditions for the property owned by James White, 141 Lewis Avenue East, and ordered its abatement immediately.

The property had the following blighting conditions: a vehicle with four flat tires, a trailer filled with junk, miscellaneous debris, a John boat on the ground next to the garbage with no registration, tires, and a broken picnic table.